In 2009, the Justice Department reached an all-time high in the number of health care fraud defendants charged, more than 800. We also obtained more than 580 convictions. And on the civil enforcement front, our health care fraud recoveries last year under the False Claims Act exceeded a stunning $2.2 billion dollars.

After it self-disclosed conduct to the OIG, St. Mary Medical Center – Long Beach (St. Mary), California, agreed to pay $494,374 for allegedly violating the Civil Monetary Penalties Law provisions applicable to kickbacks.

St. John Health System, headquartered in Tulsa, Okla., has agreed to pay the United States $13,229,348.88 to settle allegations that it violated the False Claims Act, the Justice Department announced today.

WASHINGTON – A hospital group based in McAllen, Texas, has agreed to pay the United States $27.5 million to settle claims that it violated the False Claims Act, the Anti-Kickback Statute and the Stark Statute between 1999 and 2006, by paying illegal compensation to doctors in order to induce them to refer patients to hospitals within the group, the Justice Department announced today.

The former Executive Director for Community Memorial Hospital (CMH) of Ventura, California, has entered into a civil monetary penalties settlement agreement with the Office of Inspector General (OIG) for the Department of Health and Human Services.

NEWARK – The University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey has agreed to pay the government approximately $8.3 million to settle allegations that it illegally paid kickbacks to cardiologists and caused the submission of false claims to Medicare, Acting First Assistant U.S. Attorney Marc Larkins announced today.